Devices, commonly referred to as personal video recorders (PVRs) (or digital video recorders ‘DVRs’ or the like), have been developed that allow users to digitally record and store media content on hard drives or some other media. Users may program PVRs to record content, such as television shows and movies, and watch the content at a later time. If users cannot reach their PVR, they will not be able to program it or view its content. It would be advantageous if programming and retrieving media content from PVRs could be performed securely from a remote location. Offering a digital-rights-management (DRM) scheme would also be desirable. Providing targeted advertising in media delivered to a mobile device would be advantageous to network and/or content providers as well. The current state of the art could be advanced by providing the ability to program and retrieve media content from a PVR using a mobile device.